Live an Extraordinary Life, Because "Sink-Or-Swim" is Just Blah!

Dream the Impossible Dream

The definition of a revolution: it destroys the perfect and enables the impossible.

The music business was perfect. Radio, record chains, Rolling Stone magazine, the senior prom, limited access to recording studios, the replaceable nature of the LP, the baby boomers… it all added up to a business that seemed perfect, one that could run for ever and ever.

The digital revolution destroyed this perfect business while enabling the seemingly impossible: easy access to the market by new musicians, a cosmic jukebox of just about every song ever recorded, music as a social connector…

If you are love with the perfect, prepare to see it swept away. If you are able to dream of the impossible, it just might happen.

I read this post on Seth Godin’s blog and realized this is a close reflection of what’s happening right here on Guam. It is a crusty, messy, irony—but we all know there are so many flaws about this island and we love it in all of its glorious imperfection! Those Guamanians who now live elsewhere, recall the island with images of beautiful sand, blue water and the smokey aroma emanating from the bar-b-que pit. We who live and work here love all these things, knowing the sand has broken shards from beer bottles, dozens of polluted beaches on any given day and the meat on the bar-b-que costs twice what it does in the mainland. And we still love it! It’s perfectly imperfect.

But it seems we are on the brink of a revolution. The humid air is filled with droplets of “change”. Can you feel it? Much like the “mass exodus” in the early 2000’s when hundreds of Guamanians threw their hands up and moved to places like Las Vegas and Seattle for greener pastures, there is something coming.

Why? The ever-pending military build-up fueled the flames of discontent in both pro and anti camps. Why? The Jones Act is choking local businesses. Why? The education system is still failing our kids and no one with great courage, skill and passion is stepping up to the plate. Why? The ever-growing homeless rate. Why? The great divide between wealthy and poor is becoming greater and the middle class citizen teeters on a thin line, working so hard and barely making ends meet.

When one is on the “brink” of anything, change is coming. Good. Bad. Something. Yes, we can continue to love that which we call Guam but change is in the air. Today, we can dream of the impossible. We can dream of a revitalized Hagatna. We can dream of the opening of museums. We can dream of a strong Superintendent of Education. We can dream of an infrastructure that is well-planned and maintained. We can dream of a school system that catapults our kids to success. If we dream it, “it just might happen.”